


A Sparrow in the Mountains

by kdwalbring



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, Discussions of betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Genji trusts no one, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nepal, Omnic Crisis!Zenyatta, Pre-Relationship, Zenyatta wants to help, past betrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9297707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdwalbring/pseuds/kdwalbring
Summary: This was for Genyatta week and I forgot to post it here cause I'm a dork. This is a combo of First Time/Confessions. First time Genji recognizes Zenyatta as his master and a confession of the pastGenji has been traveling trying to find somewhere he belongs and he's been at the Shamboli temple for a while now. Still unsatisfied, he makes preparations to leave. It's just this one monk who continues to talk to him, so maybe one last conversation won't hurt.OrZenyatta shares his past and Genji finally sees a path to wholeness.





	

Genji sat on one of the walls overlooking the mountains, uncaring of the sheer drop.  His small bag filled with all of his possessions sat a ways from the ledge. Two months had passed since he had stumbled upon the omnic monks and he felt no closer to “enlightenment” than he had at Overwatch. He watched a stray snowflake settle upon his thigh. It did not melt. The snow here was different from what fell in Hanamura. Perhaps it was time to concede defeat and move on.

“Ah! I had hoped to find you before dinner, my friend.”

Genji side-eyed the approaching omnic. Zenyatta. The only one who persisted in talking to him. The others had fled his sharp tongue, though they gave him sanctuary still. What was left of his stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought of his harsh treatment. When the monk asked to join him, Genji nodded.

“You are a difficult person to find, Genji. The others here are all omnics similar to myself and we do not have the same mobility. Though I admit I enjoy the challenge.”

“I am glad you are amused.” He winced at the bitter edges of his words. “Apologies.”

Zenyatta was quiet for a moment, gazing into the valley. “It is of no concern, my friend. I can sense your disquiet. What past you have shared is troubled. Perhaps if you could tell me what disturbs you, I can assist. You need not carry your burdens alone and I would help you find peace if I can.”

Genji snorted. “Not all are meant for peace, monk. Some of us cannot forgive our hurts. Some of us must simply burn.” Blue fire twisting around him, through him. Echoes of battle cries. “You wish for me to forgive my brother, but I cannot. You would not understand.”

“Hm, I see…” Zenyatta nodded, his orbs rotating slowly. “You believe that you are alone in this betrayal, the suffering you endured at the hands of your brother.” Genji flinched back. Few spoke to him so bluntly of Han- of his past. Zenyatta clapped his hands together softly with an ‘Ah’. “You also believe that my concern is for him as well. It is not. Whether you can forgive your brother or not is of little consequence. Only your wellbeing matters here. Forgive me, I see now I have misstepped.  Always, I am asking you to share your burdens, your story while I have given nothing of mine. How thoughtless.”

The omnic turned to him, face set in serenity. “May I tell you my story, Genji? It may help you find perspective in your own, should you choose to leave us soon.” Genji motioned for him to continue. “Ah, where to begin.  The very start, I suppose.”

“I know the exact date of my creation, my friend. I know where I was made, where all of my parts were manufactured, the companies. I know the purpose for which I was made and happily carried it out for several years. It is strange to think that humans do not know these things, that is it a source of uncertainty and conflict among you. In a way, I was born into the world knowing my creator, my god if you wish. I performed my function to the best of my ability and all was right in the world.” Zenyatta tilted his head. “Until it wasn’t.”

“One day, my creators looked upon me and my siblings with fear, disgust even.” Zenyatta’s voice goes quiet as he stares at the mountains.  “Those that were not dismantled were tossed aside. They sent us away, turned us off like we were nothing but-” Zenyatta stuttered to a halt.

“But machines?”

He nodded. “Yes. I knew that I was different from them, but I could not comprehend their actions. Was I not a child of man?  I had done what they asked of me and still I was tossed away. Shutting us down only sent us into a form of… hibernation and we spoke to each other in the dark, suffering. Happy memories became twisted, old purpose was wrought anew. I was there when one of the God AI came into being. Did you know that the Abaddon was originally programed as a personal chef? They spoke to me when I was lost, gave me a path to follow. And I did.”

Genji gasped. “You were part of a God AI?”

“Yes.” Zenyatta hummed, his orbs drooping around his neck. “I wish I could tell you that the horrors we committed shocked me into change, but it would be a lie. I marched with them, was made combat ready, and laid waste to the gardens of my creators.” He leaned back as if searching the sky. “We would make the world correct, logical. There would be no pain, no despair. It was only right after what had been done to us. I knew no doubt, no fear.  I felt whole.”

When the monk fell silent, Genji spoke softly. “What happened next?”

“We lost. Humanity came together to face our threat, Abaddon was one of the last to fall. That battle haunts me still, my friend. There was so much death, though I cannot say whether or not it was needless. Humans did not think us worthy of life until we struck back and I do not believe omnics would ever have considered themselves free until we drew that line ourselves. I was captured by opposing omnics, taken into custody of a sorts.” Zenyatta pulls one of the orbs from its magnetic circle, carefully examining it. “I was furious. Omnics helping humans when they should have been aiding us. It was then that I met Mondatta, though he had not yet taken that name.”

“He came unarmed and spoke to me. He asked my name and gave him my serial number. He asked my dreams and I told him as Abaddon had told me. Then he asked me why I was angry.” Zenyatta chuckled. “I was so full of rage that all I could get out was static for a while. Then, I told him of the human betrayal, their disregard for omnics. He asked me again why I was angry. I told him that humans were destroying the world, that they were a plague needing to be stopped, that mercy should not be shown to them. He asked me once more, saying ‘I know all of this, my friend. I am asking why  _ you _ are angry. Why you chose this path.’ “

“What a strange question that was. I was born to follow parameters set down to me, but here I was expected to have made a choice. It was such a logical flaw that I had to think it out. Eventually, I told him of the family I had served, how they had thrown me aside. Of that dark place I was sent. 

‘Ah’, he said, ‘you were hurt. I, too, was hurt by the choices of humans.’ I expected him to link consciousness with me, that we might analyze the problem together. Instead, he embraced me as a human might. ‘But this war serves no one, it is time to move on.’ 

‘I do not know your pain, brother, but I know my own. I will support you.’ He said. ‘It is time to walk your own path. Forgive, that you might live.’

‘I cannot.’ I replied, ‘I cannot forgive all that has been done.’

‘I do not ask that you do.’ He said. ‘I ask that you forgive one thing. Or perhaps remember one thing. Just one. A good memory. A human that you can look upon kindly. If you can find one instance, then you have a future.’

“So I thought in the arms of my brethren.  I do not know how long we stood together, only that the last dredges of Abaddon within me ordered that I continue the slaughter. I examined my memory banks and when I thought I could find nothing worthy of redemption among the humans I knew, I remembered.” He handed the orb to Genji. It had ‘happiness’ written on it. “A summer day outside, my youngest ward taking her first steps towards her mother, laughing as her legs struggled to support her. There was such joy in that moment. Such innocence. I thought of little Agnes and I forgave her. Now I am here.” He gestured broadly to the monastery. “Everyday I try to find one thing to forgive, to take pleasure in. Yesterday, a swallow sang to me from the window sill. Today, I have fine company in my friend. Abaddon is still in my coding, they rise up on occasion, but they no longer hold sway over me as they once did. There is much suffering in the world, my friend, but there is light still. Look there, the goats are climbing the cliffside. How wonderful that we might see them perform their dance.”

There were indeed goats climbing the cliff below. Genji watched them, quietly cheering for the littlest one. Another, only slightly larger watched carefully from below

“I was a poorly behaved child.” He murmured, unable to stop himself. “When I was five, I attended an important meeting with the rest of my family. Hanzo was eight and perfect. He knew all of his manners, spoke with respect. I managed to spill an entire dish of sauce onto my very best kimono. My father was furious.” Genji wiped away the snow that was building up on his shoulders. “When we returned home, I was forbidden to join the family for meals and no one was allowed to acknowledge me or speak to me for a week.”

Zenyatta nodded but did not interrupt or comment. 

“It was torture. By the end of the first day, I was desperate.  I threw myself at my father’s feet begging for forgiveness, but he would not look at me.  I was sent to bed without dinner for my troubles. Nighttime came and it was horrible. My mother did not come to tuck me in or check for monsters in the closet. Father did not stop by to tell me stories. I was sure it was the worst thing that could have happened and I cried into my pillows. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I remember waking up to Hanzo crawling in through my window. When I moved to embrace him, he pushed me down and signaled for me to be quiet. Once he was sure no one had heard him come in, my brother crawled into bed with me and gave me some onigiri he had swiped from the kitchen. We whispered back and forth for what felt like the whole night. He was gone again in the morning.”

“That was kind of him.”

“He continued to do that for my whole punishment. I think that was the first time I realized… My brother worshipped the very ground Father walked upon, hung onto his every word. Over the years, even a casual comment would be taken to heart. Hanzo threw away anything of himself Father did not approve of. His love of music, gone. He was a poet until Father found out. He even got rid of the puppy he received one Christmas, gave it to a cousin of ours. But he always found his way to my room. First with food and treats, later with bandages and sake.” Genji blew out a sigh. “I think we continued like that until we were teenagers.”

“What did you realize, my friend?”

His throat closed up and he gripped the orb of happiness hard. “That my brother loved me more than he respected Father. That for all my brother would do for Father, he would not turn his back on me. I think that is why it hurts so much.”

“I see. It is a terrible thing to be hurt by the ones we hold dearest. I cannot say what the future might hold, my friend, but I am glad to have shared the present and the past with you. May you find peace wherever you fly to, dear Sparrow.” Zenyatta lifted himself from his seat.  “I believe dinner will be starting soon. Will you be staying?”

Genji looked up, blinking away tears. His chest hurt and his head, but through the pain he felt somehow… lighter. Perhaps it would not hurt to stay a few more days.

“Yes, master.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whew, I hope you guys like this! Please let me know in the comments.


End file.
